


A Hart

by MerlinFicDriveThru



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Genderfluid Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 08:09:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4911892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerlinFicDriveThru/pseuds/MerlinFicDriveThru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Genderfluid Elyan and Morgana bringing her animals to heel because Elyan loves animals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Hart

The first time Elyan brought her a quivering ball of fur, Morgana was surprised.

She’d always known Elyan had never liked the hunting trips, had never been sure why they bothered to go on them. Then they’d brought back the bunny, a hurry in their step and no sign of humor in their eyes.

It was twitching, chest heaving unsteadily, with a broken leg at an awkward angle.

“Save it, Morgana, please?” Elyan stuttered, handing it over with care. “If you can. If you want.”

“Of course,” She pulled Elyan close, kissed their jaw. “Give me a moment, ok?”

She leaned over the bunny, holding it up gently and pulling the leg as straight as she could. It struggled in her grip, pulling away from the pain, until she whispered out magic, soothing the hurt away and mending bone and muscle.

Elyan didn’t calm down until it bounced away, jaw working in worry. When they turned back, eyes shining, Morgana wrapped her arms around them and pressed calm like water into their skin. “It’s ok, see? It’s fine now.”

The next animal Elyan brought to her was bigger.

It was slung over their shoulders, bleeding onto their white shirt and staining red across their chest. Their face was full of anger, their body moving in stiff, jerking movements.

“He shot her and just left her there.” Elyan huffed out, tears building in their eyes. “Said she wasn’t fit for dinner.”

“What?” Morgana frowned, rubbing the between the doe’s ears. “She’s beautiful.”

It was white all over, except for the spot on its hide where an arrow stuck out.

“Can you save her?” Elyan paced. “She’s barely hanging on.”

“I don’t know.” Morgana checked the light flutter of a heartbeat, frowning when it slowed under her hand. “I can try.”

Elyan paced while she worked, spreading her fingers over the wound and pulling the arrow out. The doe jerked under her palm, held only by magic and exhaustion. Morgana bit her lip and tried the magic, hoping against hope that it would pull through.

She closed her eyes when she felt the magic slip, the weak pulse fading, the doe’s breath easing.

“I’m sorry, love.”

They didn’t say anything. A few quick paces later and a determined expression, they picked the doe up again. “I’m taking her deeper in the forest, where the ground is soft. I’ll bury her there.”

“I’ll tell Arthur he is not allowed to take Lucan on any more hunting trips.” Morgana sighed. “He does not like cruelty. Not after the unicorn.”

“Will you come with me? To bury it?” Elyan looked at her, brown eyes imploring.

They looked like a hero, holding the doe on their shoulders, soft eyes and brown skin warm in the green of the trees and the grass. Morgana smiled, soft.

“Of course. We can talk to Arthur after?”

Elyan nodded.

The doe was buried by the creek. Morgana covered the newly moved earth in moss and vine.

Elyan saw the good in everything, the worth and the value in what others never did.

Elyan had seen the good in her, and they had saved her.

She would save a thousand lives for them.


End file.
